BackgroundThe thermal benefits of melanism in ectothermic animals are widely recognized, but relatively little is known about population differentiation in the degree of melanism along thermal gradients, and the relative contributions of genetic vs. environmental components into the level of melanism expressed. We investigated variation in the degree of melanism in the common frog (Rana temporaria; an active heliotherm thermoregulator) by comparing the degree of melanism (i) among twelve populations spanning over 1500 km long latitudinal gradient across the Scandinavian Peninsula and (ii) between two populations from latitudinal extremes subjected to larval temperature treatments in a common garden experiment.

ResultsWe found that the degree of melanism increased steeply in the wild as a function of latitude. Comparison of the degree of population differentiation in melanism (PST) and neutral marker loci (FST) revealed that the PST > FST, indicating that the differences cannot be explained by random genetic drift alone. However, the latitudinal trend observed in the wild was not present in the common garden data, suggesting that the cline in nature is not attributable to direct genetic differences.

ConclusionsAs straightforward local adaptation can be ruled out, the observed trend is likely to result from environment-driven phenotypic plasticity or ontogenetic plasticity coupled with population differences in age structure. In general, our results provide an example how phenotypic plasticity or even plain ontogeny can drive latitudinal clines and result in patterns perfectly matching the genetic differences expected under adaptive hypotheses.

The zinc transporter 8 (ZnT8) was recently identified as a common autoantigen in type 1 diabetes (T1D) and inclusion of ZnT8 autoantibodies (ZnT8Ab) was found to increase the diagnostic specificity of T1D.

Objectives

The main aims were to determine whether ZnT8Ab vary during follow-up 1 year after diagnosis, and to relate the reactivity of three types of ZnT8Ab to the residual stimulated C-peptide levels during the first year after diagnosis. Subjects A total of 129 newly diagnosed T1D patients <15 years was followed prospectively 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after diagnosis.

Methods

Hemoglobin A1c, meal-stimulated C-peptide, ZnT8Ab, and other pancreatic autoantibodies were measured at each visit. Patients were genotyped for the rs13266634 variant at the SLC30A8 gene and HLA-DQ alleles. Results The levels of all ZnT8Ab [ZnT8Arg (arginine), ZnT8Trp (tryptophan), ZnT8Gln (glutamine)] tended to decrease during disease progression. A twofold higher level of ZnT8Arg and ZnT8Gln was associated with 4.6%/5.2% (p = 0.02), 5.3%/8.2% (p = 0.02) and 8.9%/9.7% (p = 0.004) higher concentrations of stimulated C-peptide 3, 6, and 12 months after diagnosis. The TT genotype carriers of the SLC30A8 gene had 45.8% (p = 0.01) and 60.1% (p = 0.002) lower stimulated C-peptide 6 and 12 months after diagnosis compared to the CC and the CT genotype carriers in a recessive model.

Conclusions

The levels of the Arg variant of the ZnT8 autoantibodies are associated with higher levels of stimulated C-peptide after diagnosis of T1D and during follow-up. Carriers of the TT genotype of the SLC30A8 gene predict lower stimulated C-peptide levels 12 months after diagnosis.

Translating policies about sustainable development as a social process and sustainability outcomes into the real world of social-ecological systems involves several challenges. Hence, research policies advocate improved innovative problem-solving capacity. One approach is transdisciplinary research that integrates research disciplines, as well as researchers and practitioners. Drawing upon 14 experiences of problem-solving, we used group modeling to map perceived barriers and bridges for researchers' and practitioners' joint knowledge production and learning towards transdisciplinary research. The analysis indicated that the transdisciplinary research process is influenced by (1) the amount of traditional disciplinary formal and informal control, (2) adaptation of project applications to fill the transdisciplinary research agenda, (3) stakeholder participation, and (4) functional team building/development based on self-reflection and experienced leadership. Focusing on implementation of green infrastructure policy as a common denominator for the delivery of ecosystem services and human well-being, we discuss how to diagnose social-ecological systems, and use knowledge production and collaborative learning as treatments.

The latitudinal diversity gradient predicts higher species richness at lower latitudes. Here, we utilize the data from a long-term monitoring with malaise traps to analyse if spider communities in Sweden are affected by geographic gradients and if these effects hold independent of forest type. The species richness and the effective number of species in spider communities were not significantly related to the latitudinal gradient. The effective number of species and the taxonomic distinctness of spider communities were related to longitude, with a higher number, but fewer related species in western parts of Sweden. The species and family composition were significantly related to latitude independent of forest type, with a dominance of Linyphiidae individuals and species in the north. Our study demonstrates the suitability of malaise trap sampling to contribute to a better understanding of local spider communities, as several rare and locally new species were recorded in this study.

The capacity of migratory species to adapt to climate change may depend on their migratory and reproductive strategies. For example, reproductive output is likely to be influenced by how well migration and nesting are timed to temporal patterns of food abundance, or by temperature variations during the brood rearing phase. Based on two decades (1988–2009) of waterfowl counts from a boreal catchment in southern Finland we assessed how variation in ice break-up date affected nesting phenology and breeding success in two sympatric duck species, Mallard Anas platyrhynchos and Eurasian Teal Anas crecca. In Fennoscandia these species have similar breeding habitat requirements but differ in migration distance; Teal migrate roughly seven times as far as do Mallard. Annual ice break-up date was used as a proxy of spring ‘earliness’ to test the potential effect of climate change on hatching timing and breeding performance. Both species were capable of adapting their nesting phenology, and bred earlier in years when spring was early. However, the interval from ice break-up to hatching tended to be longer in early springs in both species, so that broods hatched relatively later than in late springs. Ice break-up date did not appear to influence annual number of broods per pair or annual mean brood size in either species. Our study therefore does not suggest that breeding performance in Teal and Mallard is negatively affected by advancement of ice break-up at the population level. However, both species showed a within-season decline in brood size with increasing interval between ice break-up and hatching. Our study therefore highlights a disparity between individuals in their capacity to adjust to ice break-up date, late breeders having a lower breeding success than early breeders. We speculate that breeding success of both species may therefore decline should a consistent trend towards earlier springs occur.

We studied time budgets and foraging methods in pre-breeding Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, (Eurasian) Teal Anas crecca, Wigeon Anas penelope, Pintail Anas acuta, Shoveler Anas clypeata and Gadwall Anas strepera in subarctic Norway in May. Among all six species studied, foraging accounted for the most common use of time, ranging from 19 % in male Pintail to 40–60 % in female Mallard, Teal, Pintail and Gadwall. Comfort behaviours amounted to 20–34 % of the time budget, and interaction and disturbance were marginal. Vigilance time ranged from 8 % in female Mallard to 20 % in male Pintail. Movement amounted to some 20 % of the time in most species and sexes. In Wigeon, sexes did not differ in time use, whereas in Mallard, Pintail and, in particular, Teal, females foraged more and engaged less in vigilance and interactions than did males. In addition, Teal and Mallard males engaged in the riskier foraging methods less than females, but more in those permitting vigilance. Although overlap in feeding methods was large among these species, Mallard and Teal were generalists, feeding at all depths, Wigeon foraged mainly in shallow water and Pintail foraged essentially in deep water. Our results support the income/capital breeder hypothesis with respect to males only; compared to lighter species, heavier species allocated less time to foraging but more to vigilance. We found no support for the hypothesis that long-distance migrants forage more to compensate for energy loss due to migratory flight. Foraging time in females was related to breeding phenology; early nesters spent more time feeding than later nesters.

Background - When sepsis or bacteraemia is suspected, patient blood samples are cultivated in blood culture bottles and then further incubated for identification of the organism and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. These methods are slow, identifying causative pathogens in a couple of hours, and antibiotic susceptibility results within 18-36 hours.

Here we present optimization of several parameters in order to evaluate if the MBT ASTRA™ method can be a rapid tool, used for routine antibiotics susceptibility testing, in a clinical laboratory.

Methods – MALDI-TOF MS measurements were performed with a Microflex LT/SH bench-top mass spectrometer (Bruker) with standard settings. The resulting spectra were uploaded in the MBT-ASTRA™ software, which normalizes the peaks and determines the AUC and RG values for each setup.

Results - The bacterial preparation steps generated a new protocol, which reduced time with 30-60 minutes.

The suspensions were transferred to 0.45 µm pore size filter membraned 96 well plate. They were centrifuged; washed; fixated and eluted; put on a MALDI-target, and covered by matrix solution. All could be automated with robot, which reduced time with 60 minutes.

Conclusion – Rapid susceptibility testing becomes more requested with the increase of resistance bacteria causing infections. Our study can be a valuable tool for clinical laboratories striving for reduction in time handling of antibiotic susceptibility testing.

Apicidin is a potent histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACI) that selectively binds to histone deacetylases (HDACs) class I and interferes with the deacetylation process, which results in modification of acetylation level of cellular proteins. The aim of the study was to investigate the potential time and dose dependent cytotoxicity of the test compound, Apicidin, in pancreatic cancer cells Capan-1 and Panc-1 as well as estimate maximal tolerable dose (MTD) of the test agent and determine EC50 using four complementary colorimetric cytotoxicity or viability assays. The cells were treated with increasing concentrations of Apicidin (0-5000nM) for 2, 4 and 6h (short term exposure) or 24, 48 and 72h (long term exposure) before conducting cytotoxic analyses with lactate dehydrogenase assay or viability analyses with sulforhodamine B (SRB), methyl tetrazolium (MTT) and crystal violet (CV) assays. In order to investigate whether Apicidin irreversibly affects the cells already during the short term exposure, the medium containing Apicidin was removed and replaced with fresh culturing medium after 6h of treatment. The cells were then incubated for additional 24, 48 or 72h before carrying out the analysis. The results obtained from cytotoxicity and viability assays indicated, that Apicidin was well tolerated by both cell lines at concentrations below 100nM at any given time point and at all applied concentrations during the short term (6h or less) treatment. Continuous prolonged term exposures (48h or greater) of the cells to Apicidin with concentration exceeding 100nM resulted in significantly increasing cytotoxicity and sustained significant loss of cell viability. Moreover, long term exposure of pancreatic cancer cells Capan-1 and Panc-1 to Apicidin concentrations exceeding 100nM showed an initial anti-proliferative effect before cytotoxicity onset. In summary, MTD was exposure time dependent and estimated to 100nM for long term treatment and to at least 5000nM for treatment not greater than 6h. EC50 concentration of Apicidin was established after long term treatment, however with some variation when comparing the different assays and cell lines. Results from this study may encourage reinvestigating the capacity of potent HDACI Apicidin as an attractive agent for interfering with the deacetylation process catalyzed by HDACs for potential pancreatic cancer intervention.

There is growing concern for both the decline of direct experience people have with nature, and the quality of that experience. This diminished experience has negative consequences for public awareness and concern for biodiversity and ecosystem health (Miller, 2005). At the same time, a diminished experience of nature appears to have a substantial negative impact on child development (Kahn & Friedman, 1995; Kahn, 2002; Matteo, Barthel, & Lars, 2014; Pyle, 1993; Thomashow, 2002). These concerns are heightened in the urban context where increased urbanization shows a relationship with a reduction in biodiversity and ecosystem health (MA, 2005; Sala et al., 2000). Additional concern comes from studies showing decreasing ecological knowledge among growing urban populations (McDaniel & Alley, 2005; McKinney, 2002). In an attempt to address these concerns and contribute toward a better understanding of the importance of childhood experience of nature, this study investigates one specific example, collecting in nature. Studies show that childhood collecting in nature (the gathering of rocks, shells, feathers, etc. as part of play and free exploration) is a widespread phenomenon (Lekies & Beery, 2013), and yet, very little is understood about this behavior. This study explored the details of childhood collecting in nature with an emphasis on the places of this experience. Participants consisted of a random sample of undergraduate students at a Swedish university (N = 380) participating in a survey focused upon early life outdoor experiences. Responses included multiple choice and Likert scale items, along with data from open-ended questions. In addition, participants were invited to discuss their experience of childhood collecting in greater detail via a semi-structured interview. Fourteen interviews were conducted as follow-up to the survey. Data review considered descriptive statistics, correlations, and regression analysis triangulated with the qualitative data from the open-ended responses and interviews. Results highlight the importance of specific places in the childhood experience of nature, the importance of nearby nature, and further, provide preliminary support for a model for environmental concern (Wolf-Watz, 2015). Ultimately, the study illuminates the idea of childhood development as a cultural ecosystem service and provides implications for nature-based solutions, such as green infrastructure, to support childhood nature experience.

This study explored the question of whether a relationship exists between the Nordic cultural idea of friluftsliv and the psychological construct of environmental connectedness (EC). This quantitative study employed a correlational design with existing data from the Swedish Outdoor Recreation in Change national survey. Results indicate that there is a significant and meaningful relationship between friluftsliv, operationally defined as nature-based outdoor recreation participation, and EC even when controlling for other predictor variables. In addition, research findings indicate that age group moderates this relationship with one group exception. It was also found that activity participation by respondents shows a correlation with both EC and age group. Implications of this study support a cultural understanding of nature-based outdoor recreation and an awareness of the important role of access to nature as an essential component of nature-based outdoor recreation. Age group differences supported a variety of implications and recommendations for future research. A consideration of how the results may have implications for environmental education and sustainability efforts were explored.

Given concerns for a severely diminished childhood experience of nature, coupled with alarm for a rapidly diminishing global biodiversity, this article considers the potential for childhood nature experience to be an important part of biodiversity understanding. Findings from two studies are integrated and presented as windows into childhood nature experience to illuminate important aspects of sensory rich learning. In one study from Sweden, semi-structured interviews with adults were conducted and analyzed to explore an understanding of the sensory experience of childhood collecting in nature via participant memories. In the second study, direct observations of children's play and exploration in an outdoor kindergarten in Norway were conducted and analyzed. Bringing these two studies together for shared analysis is useful for investigating biodiversity experience and understanding. Analysis supports the idea that the experience of biodiversity, actual childhood interaction with variation and diversity with living and nonliving items from nature allows children important learning opportunities, inclusive of biodiversity understanding. The results support practical implications for sensory rich environmental education and underscores the practical importance of childhood access to nature.

This study investigates outdoor recreation participation within a multifunctional landscape, a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve. The reserve, the Kristianstad Vattenrike located in southern Sweden, has made a deliberate effort to make the experience of biodiversity possible for residents and visitors. Recreation is a keypart of the biodiversity conservation effort in the area, represented by the infrastructure of the Kristianstad Vattenrike's 21 visitor sites. Given the biosphere reserve context, this study investigates the question of whether there is a relationship between outdoor recreation participation and place attachment. Survey data was collected using concurrent application of multiple sampling strategies including both probability and purposive sampling of local adult residents of the biosphere area. Quantitative analysis showed a significant positive relationship between the level of outdoor recreation participation and place attachment. Qualitative data supported this relationship with more details about place attachment within the studied area. The study confirms a relationship between place attachment and outdoor recreation and provides insight into how the biosphere reserve context supports this relationship. The results of this study show that significant biodiversity management in close conjunction with outdoor recreational opportunity can be achieved and provides opportunities for human engagement and experience of biodiversity.

Management Implications: This research can help managers design recreational settings that support biodiversity conservation goals. Our research found that:

• A leading motivation for outdoor recreation participation is nature experience and this motivation can be used by managers to highlight a biodiversity conservation interpretive message in the design of outdoor recreation infrastructure.

• Providing proximate access to nature based outdoor recreation, to support deliberate and direct experience of biodiversity, is an important component of engaging the public in biodiversity conservation.

• Recreation proximity alone will not create public engagement in biodiversity conservation. However,proximity as a part of a deliberate institutional design including biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and logistic support for research and monitoring may be critical for public engagement.

This study investigates the visitor experience at a Swedish nature center within aUNESCO biosphere reserve. The question of whether this interpretive facility succeedsin motivating the visitor to get outdoors for a direct experience of nature is explored. Useof the environmental connectedness perspective and concerns about diminished natureexperience support the importance of this study. A number of qualitative methodologiesare used to investigate the research questions, including thought listing, phenomenology,and field observation. Results indicate that this particular nature center generallysucceeded in the goal of inspiring visitors for a direct nature experience. The success inmotivating visitors appears to be a result of a number of key variables, including placebasedexhibitry, access, and personal visitor factors. Given the setting for this study, weconclude that interpretive nature centers have the potential to play an important role inthe re-imagination of urban environments.

Objective: The objective of this study is to explore the co-evolutionary foundation for place-based human affiliation with nonhuman nature, and its potential to support sustainable development at the local level. In particular, we analyse the Topophilia Hypothesis, an expansion of the Biophilia Hypothesis which includes also non-living elements in the environment.

Methods: The study represents a multidisciplinary conceptual analysisof how biological selection and cultural learning may have interacted during human evolution to promote adaptive mechanisms for human affiliation with nonhuman nature via specific place attachment.

Results and Conclusions: The Biophilia Hypothesis has been one of the most important theories of human connectedness with nature, suggesting a genetically based inclination for human affiliation with the biological world. The Topophilia Hypothesis has extended the ideas of Biophilia to incorporate a broader conception of nonhuman nature and a co-evolutionary theory of genetic response and cultural learning. It also puts more emphasis on affiliation processes with the local environment. We propose that nurturing potential topophilic tendencies may be a useful method to promote sustainable development at the local level, and ultimately at the global level. Tendencies of local affiliation may also have implications for multifunctional landscape management, an important area within sustainability research, and we provide some examples of successful landscape management with a strong component of local engagement. Since human affiliation with nonhuman nature is considered an important dimension of environmental concern and support for pro-environmental attitudes, the Topophilia Hypothesis may provide a fruitful ground for a discourse within which scholars from many scientific fields, including human evolution and humanistic geography, can participate.

Human affiliation with nonhuman nature is an important dimension of environmental concern and support for pro-environmental attitudes. A significant theory of human connectedness with nature, the Biophilia Hypothesis, suggests that there exists a genetically based inclination for human affiliation with the biological world. Both support and challenge to the Biophilia Hypothesis are abundant in the literature of environmental psychology. One response that both challenges and builds upon the Biophilia Hypothesis is the Topophilia Hypothesis. The Topophilia Hypothesis has extended the ideas of biophilia to incorporate a broader conception of nonhuman nature and a co-evolutionary theory of genetic response and cultural learning. While the Topophilia Hypothesis is a new idea, it is built upon long-standing scholarship from humanistic geography and theories in human evolution. The Topophilia Hypothesis expands previous theory and provides a multidisciplinary consideration of how biological selection and cultural learning may have interacted during human evolution to promote adaptive mechanisms for human affiliation with nonhuman nature via specific place attachment. Support for this possible co-evolutionary foundation for place-based human affiliation with nonhuman nature is explored from multiple vantage points. We raise the question of whether this affiliation may have implications for multifunctional landscape management. Ultimately, we propose that nurturing potential topophilic tendencies may be a useful method to promote sustainable efforts at the local level with implications for the global.

Concern for a diminished human experience of nature and subsequent decreased human well-being is addressed via a consideration of green infrastructure's potential to facilitate unplanned or incidental nature experience. Incidental nature experience is conceptualized and illustrated in order to consider this seldom addressed aspect of human interaction with nature in green infrastructure planning. Special attention has been paid to the ability of incidental nature experience to redirect attention from a primary activity toward an unplanned focus (in this case, nature phenomena). The value of such experience for human well-being is considered. The role of green infrastructure to provide the opportunity for incidental nature experience may serve as a nudge or guide toward meaningful interaction. These ideas are explored using examples of green infrastructure design in two Nordic municipalities: Kristianstad, Sweden, and Copenhagen, Denmark. The outcome of the case study analysis coupled with the review of literature is a set of sample recommendations for how green infrastructure can be designed to support a range of incidental nature experiences with the potential to support human well-being.

A current focus of ecosystem services (ES) implementation is on the municipal level of government where international and national legislation and policies have to be translated into practice. Given this focus, an understanding of perceptions within municipalities of the ES concept is crucial to support the implementation process. Against this background, this paper examines the perceptions of Swedish municipal stakeholders for the ES concept. A 2013 Swedish federal mandate that states that the values of ecosystem services should be considered in relevant decision-making processes, provides a timely context. Current perceptions, preconditions and awareness are explored via interviews and analyses. The results show that the views on the ecosystem services concept and its usefulness are generally very positive. Conceptual knowledge use is perceived as important as is the recognition of monetary valuation of ES. However, clarification of the distinction between implicit and explicit use of the concept by stakeholders is needed. Finally, results indicate that a deeper understanding of monetary valuation of ecosystem services by municipal staff members is connected with a more critical view on monetary valuation. It is concluded that detailed and clear definitions and guidelines are needed in order to support the process of implementing ES in municipalities.

The environmental connectedness perspective posits that direct encounter with generalized, or non-specific “nature,” leads to environmental connectedness and subsequent pro-environmental behavior. This article examines this perspective and proposes a place-based application of the nature encounter-environmental behavior relation. An empirical study using data from a national survey on outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism is presented. Results show a minimal relationship between measures of environmental connectedness and self-reports of environmental behavior. The following examination of the environmental connectedness perspective reveals that environmental connectedness is rooted in a material/objective perspective, neglecting the human domain of perceptions, values, and representations. The environment as “nature” is portrayed as a geographically undefined agent with the inherent power to change human attitudes and behavior. Based on this, the article concludes with a proposed replacement of the elusive concept of nature for the relational concept of place.

Tardigrades are known for being resistant to extreme conditions, including tolerance to ionising and UV radiation in both the hydratedand the dehydrated state. It is known that these factors may cause damage to DNA. It has recently been shown that single and double DNAstrand breaks occur when tardigrades are maintained for a long time in the anhydrobiotic state. This may suggest that perhaps tardigrades rely on efficient DNA repair mechanisms. Among all proteins that comprise the DNA repair system, recombinases such as RecA or Rad51 have a very important function: DNA exchange activity. This enzyme is used in the homologous recombination and allows repair of thedamaged strand using homologous non-damaged strands as a template. In this study, Rad51 induction was evaluated by western blot in Milnesium cf. tardigradum, after exposure to gamma radiation. The Rad51 protein was highly induced by radiation, when compared to the control. The rad51 genes were searched in three tardigrades: Milnesium cf. tardigradum, Hypsibius dujardini and Macrobiotus cf. harmsworthi. The gene sequences were obtained by preparing and sequencing transcriptome libraries for H. dujardini and M. cf. harmsworthi and designing rad51 degenerate primers specific for M. cf. tardigradum. Comparison of Rad51 putative proteins from tardigrades with other organisms showed that they are highly similar to the corresponding sequence from the nematode Trichinella spiralis. A structure-based sequence alignment from tardigrades and other organisms revealed that putative Rad51 predicted proteins from tardigrades contain the expected motifs for these important recombinases. In a cladogram tree based on this alignment, tardigrades tend to cluster together suggesting that they have selective differences in these genes that make them diverge between species. Predicted Rad51 structures from tardigrades were also compared with crystalline structure of Rad51 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These results reveal that S. cerevisiae Rad51 structure is very similar to that of the three analysed tardigrades. On the other hand the predicted structure of Rad51 from M. cf. harmsworthi and H. dujardini are closer related to each other, than each of them to that of M. cf. tardigradum.

Tardigrades represent one of the most desiccation and radiation tolerant animals on Earth, and several studies havedocumented their tolerance in the adult stage. Studies on tolerance during embryological stages are rare, but differentialeffects of desiccation and freezing on different developmental stages have been reported, as well as dose-dependent effectof gamma irradiation on tardigrade embryos. Here, we report a study evaluating the tolerance of eggs from theeutardigrade Milnesium cf. tardigradum to three doses of gamma radiation (50, 200 and 500 Gy) at the early, middle, andlate stage of development. We found that embryos of the middle and late developmental stages were tolerant to all doses,while eggs in the early developmental stage were tolerant only to a dose of 50 Gy, and showed a declining survival withhigher dose. We also observed a delay in development of irradiated eggs, suggesting that periods of DNA repair might havetaken place after irradiation induced damage. The delay was independent of dose for eggs irradiated in the middle and latestage, possibly indicating a fixed developmental schedule for repair after induced damage. These results show that thetolerance to radiation in tardigrade eggs changes in the course of their development. The mechanisms behind this patternare unknown, but may relate to changes in mitotic activities over the embryogenesis and/or to activation of responsemechanisms to damaged DNA in the course of development.

The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is a focal species in game management, epidemiology and ornithology, but comparably little research has focused on the ecology of the migration seasons. We studied habitat use, time-budgets, home-range sizes, habitat selection, and movements based on spatial data collected with GPS devices attached to wild mallards trapped at an autumn stopover site in the Northwest European flyway. Sixteen individuals (13 males, 3 females) were followed for 15-38 days in October to December 2010. Forty-nine percent (SD = 8.4%) of the ducks' total time, and 85% of the day-time (SD = 28.3%), was spent at sheltered reefs and bays on the coast. Two ducks used ponds, rather than coast, as day-roosts instead. Mallards spent most of the night (76% of total time, SD = 15.8%) on wetlands, mainly on alvar steppe, or in various flooded areas (e.g. coastal meadows). Crop fields with maize were also selectively utilized. Movements between roosting and foraging areas mainly took place at dawn and dusk, and the home-ranges observed in our study are among the largest ever documented for mallards (mean = 6,859 ha; SD = 5,872 ha). This study provides insights into relatively unknown aspects of mallard ecology. The fact that autumn-staging migratory mallards have a well-developed diel activity pattern tightly linked to the use of specific habitats has implications for wetland management, hunting and conservation, as well as for the epidemiology of diseases shared between wildlife and domestic animals.

The last decade has seen a surge in research on avian influenza A viruses (IAVs), in part fuelled by the emergence, spread and potential zoonotic importance of highly pathogenic virus subtypes. The mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) is the most numerous and widespread dabbling duck in the world, and one of the most important natural hosts for studying IAV transmission dynamics. In order to predict the likelihood of IAV transmission between individual ducks and to other hosts, as well as between geographical regions, it is important to understand how IAV infection affects the host. In this study, we analysed the movements of 40 mallards equipped with GPS transmitters and three-dimensional accelerometers, of which 20 were naturally infected with low pathogenic avian influenza virus (LPAIV), at a major stopover site in the Northwest European flyway. Movements differed substantially between day and night, as well as between mallards returning to the capture site and those feeding in natural habitats. However, movement patterns did not differ between LPAIV infected and uninfected birds. Hence, LPAIV infection probably does not affect mallard movements during stopover, with high possibility of virus spread along the migration route as a consequence.

Removal of cadmium (Cd) present at low levels (1 µg L−1) in water was investigated using three different microorganism treatments: the microalga Chlorella vulgaris, the fungus Aspergillus niger and for the first time biopellets composed of C. vulgaris and A. niger. After 5 days, all microorganism treatments resulted in significantly lower Cd concentrations compared with the control. Biopellets treatment resulted in significantly lower pH values than other microorganism treatments, indicating that the biopellets should be investigated further for their water treatment capacity, since pH is a factor affecting the fate of numerous pollutants in water. Use of biopellets as a method to simplify harvesting of microalgae from water is also suggested.

Removal of seven pharmaceuticals (acetaminophen, carbamazepine, diclofenac, metoprolol, naproxen, ranitidine and sulfamethoxazole) from water was investigated using three different microbial treatments with: (1) the microalga Chlorella vulgaris, (2) the fungus Aspergillus niger and (3) biopellets composed of both microorganisms. The three-day experiment was performed under laboratory conditions and pharmaceuticals were spiked at the environmentally relevant concentration of 10 mu g L-1. The biopellets and fungal treatments resulted in significantly lower ranitidine concentration compared with the initial value. Also, treatment with biopellets resulted in significantly lower final ranitidine concentrations compared to those found after control and microalgal treatments. Low removal rates were obtained for other substances, possibly because the amount of microbial biomass used was 16-500-fold lower than that normally used in activated sludge processes in wastewater treatments plants. Thus, the pharmaceutical removal potential, elimination potential and performance of biopellets should be further investigated at higher biomass concentrations. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Transdisciplinary research and collaboration is widely acknowledged as a critical success factor for solution-oriented approaches that can tackle complex sustainability challenges, such as biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate-related hazards. In this context, city governments’ engagement in transdisciplinarity is generally seen as a key condition for societal transformation towards sustainability. However, empirical evidence is rare. This paper presentsa self-assessment of a joint research project on ecosystem services and climate adaptation planning (ECOSIMP) undertaken by four universities and seven Swedish municipalities. We apply a set of design principles and guiding questions for transdisciplinary sustainability projects and, on this basis, identify key aspects for supporting university–municipality collaboration. We show that: (1) selecting the number and type of project stakeholders requires more explicit consideration of the purpose of societal actors’ participation; (2) concrete, interim benefits for participating practitioners and organisations need to be continuously discussed; (3) promoting the ‘inter’, i.e., interdisciplinary and inter-city learning, can support transdisciplinarity and, ultimately, urban sustainability and long-term change. In this context, we found that design principles for transdisciplinarity have the potential to (4) mitigate project shortcomings, even when transdisciplinarity is not an explicit aim, and (5) address differences and allow new voices to be heard. We propose additional guiding questions to address shortcomings and inspire reflexivity in transdisciplinary projects.

The aim of the project has been to reveal the living conditionsfor humans in a coastal area of the Baltic sea during thirteen thousand years and to study the implications of variations in climate, sea-level and landscape changes. The archaeological ex- cavations, well integrated with paleoecological studies, along a twenty kilometer new road-built between Sölvesborg and Stensnäs has resulted in unique findings which shed new light on to the human history in southern Scandinavia and adjust- ment of the sea-level curve in western Blekinge. Time periods from early mesolithic, neolithic, bronze age until late iron age are well represented at the sites along the former bay and lake Vesan. Macrofossil analysis of the plant material at the archae- ological sites has revealed the food resources, burial gifts and given a glimpse of the local environment. Sediment cores from the center and near shore of former lake Vesan has given the opportunity to reconstruct the aquatic conditions and vegeta- tion in the surrounding landscape based on analysis of diatoms, pollen, macrofossils and carbon content. The vast number of radiocarbon dates of the archaeological material from various altitudes at the sites has enabled adjustment of the sea-level curve especially during Ancylus-, Littorina transgressions and aregression around 8.2 ka.

The prisoner's dilemma has evolved into a standard game for analyzing the success of cooperative strategies in repeated games. With the aim of investigating the behavior of strategies in some alternative games we analyzed the outcome of iterated games for both the prisoner's dilemma and the chicken game. In the chicken game, mutual defection is punished more strongly than in the prisoner's dilemma, and yields the lowest fitness. We also ran our analyses under different levels of noise. The results reveal a striking difference in the outcome between the games. Iterated chicken game needed more generations to find a winning strategy. It also favored nice, forgiving strategies able to forgive a defection from an opponent. In particular the well-known strategy tit-for-tat has a poor successrate under noisy conditions. The chicken game conditions may be relatively common in other sciences, and therefore we suggest that this game should receive more interest as a cooperative game from researchers within computer science.

Cryptobiosis represents the state of a living organism when it shows no visible signs of metabolic life, but maintains a capacity to return to an active, metabolic state. This peculiar state, although known from a wide variety of organisms, has received little attention from a theoretically biological perspective. A description based on a Petri net setting and a time based security model is proposed. In order to protect against a prolonged exposure time, the pathways for chemical reactions involved must fulfil their actions during a limited detection and response time to fulfil the protected state of entering/leaving cryptobiosis.

RivFunction is a pan-European initiative that started in 2002 and was aimed at establishing a novel functional-based approach to assessing the ecological status of rivers. Litter decomposition was chosen as the focal process because it plays a central role in stream ecosystems and is easy to study in the field. Impacts of two stressors that occur across the continent, nutrient pollution and modified riparian vegetation, were examined at &gt; 200 paired sites in nine European ecoregions. In response to the former, decomposition was dramatically slowed at both extremes of a 1000-fold nutrient gradient, indicating nutrient limitation in unpolluted sites, highly variable responses across Europe in moderately impacted streams, and inhibition via associated toxic and additional stressors in highly polluted streams. Riparian forest modification by clear cutting or replacement of natural vegetation by plantations (e.g. conifers, eucalyptus) or pasture produced similarly complex responses. Clear effects caused by specific riparian disturbances were observed in regionally focused studies, but general trends across different types of riparian modifications were not apparent, in part possibly because of important indirect effects. Complementary field and laboratory experiments were undertaken to tease apart the mechanistic drivers of the continental scale field bioassays by addressing the influence of litter, fungal and detritivore diversity. These revealed generally weak and context-dependent effects on decomposition, suggesting high levels of redundancy (and hence potential insurance mechanisms that can mitigate a degree of species loss) within the food web. Reduced species richness consistently increased decomposition variability, if not the absolute rate. Further field studies were aimed at identifying important sources of this variability (e.g. litter quality, temporal variability) to help constrain ranges of predicted decomposition rates in different field situations. Thus, although many details still need to be resolved, litter decomposition holds considerable potential in some circumstances to capture impairment of stream ecosystem functioning. For instance, species traits associated with the body size and metabolic capacity of the consumers were often the main driver at local scales, and these were often translated into important determinants of otherwise apparently contingent effects at larger scales. Key insights gained from conducting continental scale studies included resolving the apparent paradox of inconsistent relationships between nutrients and decomposition rates, as the full complex multidimensional picture emerged from the large-scale dataset, of which only seemingly contradictory fragments had been seen previously.

Anhydrobiosis is one of the types of cryptobiosis that is caused by lack of water (desiccation). Formation of a tun seems to be the most important morphological adaptation for entering anhydrobiotic state. During this process the tardigrade body undergo anterior-posterior contraction that causes relocation of some organs such as the pharyngeal bulb. The tun wall of Richtersius coronifer (Eutardigrada, Macrobiotidae) was composed of multilayered cuticle and epidermis. The epidermis consisted of the single squamous epithelium whose cells were shrunken whereas the cuticle was composed of epi-, intra- and procuticle, flocculent coat and trilaminate layer. The storage cells of desiccated specimens filled up free inner space and surrounded the internal organs (ovary, digestive system) that were contracted. All cells of the body underwent shrinking and their metabolism was arrested. The cytoplasm of all cells was electron dense but the basic morphology of cells and organelles did not differ between active and anhydrobiotic animals. The structure and the ultrastructure of the desiccated Richtersius coronifer have been described with light and confocal microscopy as well as transmission and scanning electron microscopy. 3D reconstruction of tun based on the series of semi-thin sections was prepared with IMARIS 8.2 software (Bitplane).

Tardigrades represent one of the main animal groups with anhydrobiotic capacity at any stage of their life cycle. The ability of tardigrades to survive repeated cycles of anhydrobiosis has rarely been studied but is of interest to understand the factors constraining anhydrobiotic survival. The main objective of this study was to investigate the patterns of survival of the eutardigrade Richtersius coronifer under repeated cycles of desiccation, and the potential effect of repeated desiccation on size, shape and number of storage cells. We also analyzed potential change in body size, gut content and frequency of mitotic storage cells. Specimens were kept under non-cultured conditions and desiccated under controlled relative humidity. After each desiccation cycle 10 specimens were selected for analysis of morphometric characteristics and mitosis. The study demonstrates that tardigrades may survive up to 6 repeated desiccations, with declining survival rates with increased numberof desiccations. We found a significantly higher proportion of animals that were unable to contract properly into a tun stage during the desiccation process at the 5th and 6th desiccations. Also total number of storage cells declined at the 5th and 6th desiccations, while no effect on storage cell size was observed. The frequency of mitotic storage cells tended to decline with higher number of desiccation cycles. Our study shows that the number of consecutive cycles of anhydrobiosis that R. coronifer may undergo is limited, with increased inability for tun formation and energetic constraints as possible causal factors.

Although tardigrades are sometimes reported as eutelic animals, mitosis has been reported in several somatic tissues of adult eutardigrades. The occurrence of cell division in storage cells is particularly interesting in light of the important role that these cells play in the physiology of tardigrades. We present data on the occurrence of mitosis in storage cells of the eutardigrade Richtersius coronifer (Richters, 1903), and analyse mitotic cells in relation to different body characteristics, including egg development stage, moulting, gut content, body length, number and size of oocytes, and shape and size of the storage cells. Mitosis was present in ~20% of all animals, and was more frequent in juveniles than in adults. The proportion of cells with mitosis (‘mitotic index’) was low: 0.76% in juveniles and 1.47% in adults. In juveniles, none of the measured phenotypic characters had significant predictive power for mitosis, whereas in adult animals in moult or in late egg developmental or post-laying stage were more likely to have mitotic storage cells. The association with the later part of the moulting process was particularly strong. The low mitotic index and the strong association with moulting suggests that mitosis in storage cells may be connected with somatic growth rather than cell renewal, and that the purpose of cell division may relate to a need of more cells to support the enlarged body after moulting. However, the specific life cycle of tardigrades, where energy intake and depletion, egg development, and moulting is highly intertwined and synchronized, make conclusions about the functional role of mitosis in storage cells difficult, however, and more studies are needed to reveal the mechanisms inducing mitosis in these interesting cells.

Tardigrades are often reported as eutelic animals, characterized by a constant cell number after maturity and growing by cell enlargement rather than by increased cell number. However, mitosis has been reported in some of the somatic tissues of adult eutardigrades, including the storage cells, and are therefore not strictly eutelic. Very few studies have investigated the presence of mitosis in tardigrades, and the occurrence of cell division in storage cells is particularly interesting in light of the important role that these cells may play in the physiology and immunology of tardigrades. We present data on the occurrence of mitosis in storage cells of the eutardigrade Richtersius coronifer and provide an analysis of storage cell mitosis in relation to different body characteristics. Specimens were examined for mitotic cells using in toto staining with aceto-lactic orcein, and the same animals were characterized with respect to egg development stage, number of oocytes, gut content, body size, and shape and size of the storage cells. Mitosis was present in ca. 30% of the animals. A large majority (3/4) of the animals with mitotic cells were found in specimens at moulting or directly after egg laying. Amount of gut content was associated with mitosis, with highest mitosis frequency (ca. 50%) in animals with an empty gut. These results for egg developmental stage (incl. moulting) and gut content are however not independent, since gut content generally decrease towards the end of the reproductive cycle. Other measured body characteristics did not influence the frequency of mitosis. In juveniles, mitotic cells were found in about half of the examined specimens. Our results suggest that proliferation of storage cells in R. coronifer is connected to the general life cycle dynamics, and provide a basis for more in depth analyses of the functional role and dynamics of storage cells in tardigrades.

Tun formation is an essential morphological adaptation for entering the anhydrobiotic state in tardigrades, but its internal structure has rarely been investigated. We present the structure and ultrastructure of organs and cells in desiccated Richtersius coronifer by transmission and scanning electron microscopy, confocal microscopy, and histochemical methods. A 3D reconstruction of the body organization of the tun stage is also presented. The tun formation during anhydrobiosis of tardigrades is a process of anterior-posterior body contraction, which relocates some organs such as the pharyngeal bulb. The cuticle is composed of epicuticle, intracuticle and procuticle; flocculent coat; and trilaminate layer. Moulting does not seem to restrict the tun formation, as evidenced from tardigrade tuns that were in the process of moulting. The storage cells of desiccated specimens filled up the free inner space and surrounded internal organs, such as the ovary and digestive system, which were contracted. All cells (epidermal cells, storage cells, ovary cells, cells of the digestive system) underwent shrinkage, and their cytoplasm was electron dense. Lipids and polysaccharides dominated among reserve material of storage cells, while the amount of protein was small. The basic morphology of specific cell types and organelles did not differ between active and anhydrobiotic R. coronifer.

Coelomocytes are macrophage-like cells in the body cavity or the coelomic spaces of many invertebrates and play major roles in their physiology and immunology. Their structure, function and diversity, however, is still poorly understood.

Tardigrades are micrometazoans inhabiting a wide variety of environments and with an ability to survive extreme conditions. Coelomocytes (“storage cells”) represent an important part of tardigrade physiology, storing and distributing energy and possibly also having immunological functions. Few studies of tardigrade cell biology have been reported and neither primary nor continuous cell cultures have been established. Tardigrades are normally found and also cultured in an environment rich in microorganisms, some of which may even be of symbiotic value.

In this study we have tried to establish a primary culture of storage cells in the eutardigrade Richtersius coronifer. Different cell media and concentrations of fetal bovine serum (FBS) were tested. Extracting cells from the tardigrades in an antiseptical environment is challenging since it has to be done under a microscope and contamination from the tardigrades surface is also a problem. To avoid this we tried culturing with high concentrations of antibiotics and antimycotics. We managed to keep the cells viable for up to 18 days in Grace insect medium with 10 % FBS at 20-22°C. The medium was changed every third day. 10x Antibiotic-Antimycotic and 5x of Penicillin-Streptomycin were used to minimize contamination. These concentrations reduce the bacterial abundance, but contamination with fungi was still an issue. Cell morphology evaluation was performed daily and no obvious toxic effects on the cells was observed. Cell viability and cell division were evaluated with Trypan blue staining and cell counting in a haemocytometer. The results indicate that the cells are viable and that some cell division occurs, however more studies need to be performed to confirm this. Still, this study provides the first evidence that primary cultures of storage cells from tardigrades are possible to establish, but the culturing method has to be refined to avoid contamination.

Dabbling ducks (Anas spp.) are importantmigratory quarry species, protected as a shared resource under international legislation. However, there is a lack of sufficient high-quality data on vital demographic rates and long-term trends in numbers to judge the conservation status of many duck populations at the flyway level. In response to reported declines in the North-West European flyway population of theMallard, we compiled available data on this species in the Nordic countries up to 2010. Generally, national breeding numbers showed increasing trends, wintering abundance showed variable trends, and productivitymeasures indicated stable or increasing trends.Major knowledge gaps were identified, namely the size of hunting bags, the influence of the released Mallards and the role of short-stopping in explaining changing patterns of wintering abundance across the North-West European flyway. Numerically the Nordic breeding population appears in “good condition”, and the wintering numbers have been either stable or increasing in the last two decades. The annual number of releases needs to be determined in order to judge the sustainability of the current levels of exploitation. Overall, none of the indicators showed alarming signs for the Mallard population in the Nordic countries when considered in isolation. However, the widespread decline in wintering numbers elsewhere across North-western Europe requires urgent pan-European action.

Reproductive success in ducks is strongly influenced by predation on the breeding grounds. Ducklings are targeted by a range of terrestrial, aerial and aquatic predators, giving a strong selective advantage to individuals and broods that have effective ways to avoid predation. In experiments on naive mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) ducklings without an accompanying adult female we investigated the innate ability to identify and avoid threats at varying intensity from aerial, aquatic and terrestrial predators. Ducklings displayed increased vigilance in response to pre-recorded calls of predatory birds, representing a low level of threat. They did not react to visual and olfactory stimuli generated by motionless northern pike (Esox lucius). Neither did they show a strong response to caged American mink (Neovison vison) (visual and olfactory stimuli), although they avoided the area with the mink, indicating a certain level of recognition. High intensity threats were simulated by staging attacks from aerial (goshawk, Accipiter gentilis) and aquatic predators (northern pike). The aerial attack made ducklings dive and scatter under water, whereas the response to attack by pike was to run on the water and scatter in different directions. The lack of response to a ‘passive’ pike and the rather weak avoidance of mink indicate that olfactory cues are not as important in identifying a potential predatory threat by ducklings as are auditory cues. Visual cues appear to be of little importance unless they are combined with movement, and a clear response is only triggered when the intensity of predator threat is high. Mallard ducklings, thus, show an innate capacity to adjust anti-predator behaviour to different predator types and to threat intensity. Our study highlights the general trade-off between foraging needs and predator avoidance, but also second-order trade-offs in which innate avoidance behaviour towards one type of predator may increase predation risk from another.

Many goose populations have increased dramatically over the past decades, which may influence inland waters used as roost sites. We reviewed the role of geese in the influx of nitrogen and phosphorus to freshwater systems. Several methods have been used to estimate guanotrophication impacts of geese. Water and sediment analysis have been conducted in areas of high and low geese presence; however, productive wetlands tend to attract more birds, and the causality is therefore ambiguous. Faecal addition experiments have attempted to estimate the impacts of droppings on water chemistry, sediments, algal growth, or invertebrate densities. The most common method of estimating goose guanotrophication is by extrapolation, usually based on multiplication of faecal production and its nutrient content. Based on such studies and those including information about daily migration patterns, we developed an approach to improve estimates of the nutrient contribution of geese. The relative role of geese in wetland eutrophication is also affected by the influx from alternative sources. The greatest guanotrophication impacts are likely found in areas with few alternative nutrient sources and with large goose flocks. Limited inflow and outflow of a freshwater system or a scarcity of wetland roosts may also increase problems at a local scale. Although several studies have looked at the impacts of geese on, for example, water chemistry or soil sediments, the effects are often smaller than expected, in part because no study to date has assessed the ecosystem response by including impacts on all levels, including water nutrient levels, nutrient sedimentation, chlorophyll content, and zooplankton response.

In this study, twelve Mallards living in an artificial wastewater wetland were exposed to treated wastewater containing 1 x 103- 4 x 103 enterococci 100 ml-1 for a period of 55 days. Faecal samples were collected before, during and after exposure and analysed for Enterococcus spp. The isolates were phenotyped using the PhenePlateTM system. 270 Enterococcus spp. of Mallard origin were analysed, together with 116 Enterococcus spp. isolates from treated wastewater and from incoming raw wastewater. In general, the Mallard and wastewater enterococci isolates belonged to different phenotypes, although several sharing identical phenotypic profiles were found. One E. faecalis phenotype was found in Mallards before, during and after exposure to treated wastewater, as well as in raw and treated wastewater. Our results indicate that there is a common source of enterococci for Mallards and humans. We propose an increased focus on emissions of human bacteria and on systems that mediate their transfer to wild animals.

Because of birds’ mobility, behaviour and many species’ migratory nature, they select repeatedly and spatially among habitats and have been central figures in studies of avian breeding habitat selection during the 20th and 21st centuries. The scientific literature on habitat use by breeding waterfowl has origins dating back to the writings of Charles Darwin in The Voyage of the Beagle, wherein he described the distribution and habitat differences of two species of geese on the Falkland Islands. Since that time, waterfowl ecologists have gone from descriptive studies of nest site characteristics used for planning waterfowl conservation and management to comparing nest site use in relation to potential habitat availability and determining selection for a wide array of ecological correlates. Waterfowl ecologists most recently have been investigating the adaptive significance of nest site selection by associating the latter with individual fitness and demographic measurements to assess the birds’ adaptability under environmental conditions at multiple scales of selection. While little direct assessment of 1st and 2nd order nest site selection has occurred (sensu Johnson 1980), available information is most consistent with the hypothesis that selection at these scales is driven by food availability. At the 3rd and 4th order of selection, data are consistent with hypotheses that both food availability and predator avoidance drive nest site selection, depending on the species and type of nesting aggregation. We also identify understudied areas of nest site selection important for the conservation and management of waterfowl and suggest that the large-scale influence of current anthropogenic and natural effects on the environment indicates that greater emphasis should be directed toward understanding waterfowl nest site selection at the 1st and 2nd orders of selection and how nesting habitat selection interfaces with community ecology of sympatric breeding waterfowl. Moreover, because habitat selection of prefledging waterfowl is inherently linked to breeding habitat selection, we suggest an updated review of brood habitat selection should ensue from our synthesis here.

In Sweden a unique project supported by the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency will be developed in close collaboration with coastal municipalities in Skåne, and with a coordinating role by Skåne´s Association of Local Authorities. These municipalities face a range of different environmental challenges, from areas along the eastern coast line facing problems related to the Baltic Sea, to municipalities in the Öresund region. In this study a range of different environmental conditions and related ecosystem services, from vulnerability to floods, erosion and sea level rise to strong pressure on coastal systems from urbanization will be investigated. Research questions and directions are built on cases and scenarios which are a part of the local municipality planning process. The approach will be to study the premises of implementing the Ecosystem Services (ES) in municipal planning and decision making of five coastal municipalities. The present study will analyse past decisions, present planning and future challenges for municipality development and management from the perspective of ES, with the aim of increasing our understanding of the ES concept as a tool for sustainable development. A second aim of the project is to evaluate the potential value of connecting the ES approach to ongoing climate change adaptation in the municipalities. The project will use the six-step approach developed by the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity framework (TEEB) as the main conceptual frame. This approach includes the following steps: 1) Identifying and agreeing on the problem with stakeholders, 2) Identify the ES which are most relevant and pressing in municipality planning, 3) Collect and identify the information needs and the method to collect the data, 4) Assess expected changes in ES due to decision and input from society, 5) Identify policy options based on changes in ES and 6) Assess social and environmental impacts of 1-5.